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Chapter 12: Sickness Cured
"Well, looks like that midnight patrol has just been cancelled," Lavi mumbled bitterly to Lenalee, leaning against the wall outside of the bathroom. They could hear Kanda retching, vomiting her guts out, and Allen's soothing words. Kanda had already told him multiple times to piss off, but in her compromised state, she'd been unable to go through with any threats she'd made at him.
"Fuck everything," Kanda snarled the moment she could get a word in, "This is so disgraceful." She gripped the sides of the toilet attempting to push herself up. Allen's hands simply pushed her back down again.
"Nothing's disgraceful about being sick. It's a natural part of life," Allen he her, holding her long hair out of her face. He was having trouble keeping his own hair out of the mess. It kept slipping forward to drape over his shoulder. "How the fuck do you deal with having long hair? This is ridiculous," he growled, pulling one hand away from the makeshift ponytail to throw his hair back over his shoulder for the hundredth time.
If Kanda could have sneered, she would have. "I got used to it," she grumbled in the middle of a reprieve. Her breathe came hard, pushing through her teeth in pained gasps. "Fuck my life."
"Fuck your couch," Allen replied teasingly, the response immediate. It had been something that had started between them after a certain mission they'd been on together that still had annoyance swirling through them when they so much as remembered it. Every time they'd been just about ready to fuck on the couch, of all things, in their room, their clothes already stripped of their bodies, someone or something had interrupted them. They hadn't truly understood how hard and awkward it was to fight with hard erections until that mission. Each time, Kanda had growled, "Fuck my life," and Allen had growled into the cushion behind Kanda's shoulder, irritation clouding his mind so that his words came without thought, "Fuck your couch."
Kanda snorted, the memories of the mission flooding her thoughts. She coughed a few more times before pushing herself up. "I feel better," she said, flushing the toilet and moving to the sink to brush her teeth, a spring in her step, "Let's get going on that patrol."
"Uuuummm..." Allen mumbled, confusion coursing through his being. He stared at his lover's back from the floor, unsure of how to proceed. Was he supposed to deny her access to the outside word and detain her to bed? Was he supposed to let her go? Was she even completely alright?
"Dude, weren't you just puking your guts out two seconds ago?" Lavi cried incredulously, poking her head around the corner to peek into the bathroom. She pushed off the wall as Kanda made her way out followed by an utterly confuzzled Allen. Lavi and Allen exchanged shocked, confused looks. They hurried after Kanda, trying to catch up with her long, proud stride.
Instead of answering, Kanda looked at her with an arching eyebrow and shot back, "Are we going on the midnight patrol or are we just going to sit around like a bunch of idiots with no idea how to proceed?"
"B-but..." Lavi was at a loss of words for once in her life. She gaped at her friend, watching her move around as if she hadn't just lost all of the food she'd eaten in the last three hours. And trust Lavi when she said it had been a lot of food. The amount the girl had consumed could have rivaled Allen's food consumption.
"I liked that paella stuff to," Kanda grumbled to herself low enough that only Lenalee, seated close to her, could hear her.
The other woman frowned at her, not as lost as the other two seemed to be. "Kanda, have you had your period for this month?" she asked suddenly, standing and dusting off the back of her skirt. She watched her seriously, waiting for an answer.
Kanda scoffed. "Why would I get that every month?"
"Because that's how the female body works."
"But I'm not…" Her words petered off into nothing as a thinly veiled look of horror crossed Kanda's face. "Screw the female body. I refuse to bleed out of my vagina every four weeks.
Lenalee couldn't help but laugh. "I'm going to take that as a no." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. She didn't know how to phrase this delicately. Either way the other woman would have a freak out and... Well, she didn't really know how she'd react after that. Maybe kill Allen. "You may not have to deal with it, but you may end up saddled with something much worse that is good at the same time," she mumbled under her breath.
Kanda rolled her eyes. "Are we going to go on that patrol or just sit here asking pointless questions and making up stupid theories?" Kanda snapped, flinging the door open and making her way downstairs none too quietly.
Patrons that shared their hall poked their heads out their doors curiously, looking up and down the hall with blurry, sleep clouded eyes. "Sorry, sorry, my friend doesn't know how to be quiet," Lenalee called down to them, an apologetic smile curving her lips. The other patrons disappeared back into their rooms except for Antonio and Lovino.
Lenalee sighed, answering for her confused friends. In their muddled state, they didn't seem to be able to work their mouths as well as they should, which was probably better for everyone in the long run. "We're coming. We're coming," she called back, grabbing Lavi and Allen by their collars and dragging them out the door.
"Can we help with anything?" Antonio asked, standing in the doorway to their bedroom, Lovino leaning against the frame beside him. They watched Lenalee toss Allen and Lavi down the stairs, leaving them to tumble their way down.
"No, we're fine. Just stay here and stay safe alright," she told them with a glittering smile. Her sparkle was dulled just the slightest with tiredness, worry tightening the muscles around her mouth and eyes just slightly, making her looks several years older than her natural age.
Antonio smiled just brightly back, snaking an arm around Lovino's waist. "Alright, you be careful too Lenalee. Keep those other three safe too, will you? Tell Kanda, Allen, and Lavi to be careful too." He and Lenalee shared a knowing look before they both turned. Antonio pulled Lovino back into the room while Lenalee descended the stairs silently.
She caught up with the other three just outside of the inn. "So what do you say about taking another look around the woods?" The others shrugged. They didn't care where they went as long as they found some sign of the innocence.
...
"What is that?" Kanda shot over his shoulder, pulling to a screeching halt. She stared into the gloomy darkness, her eyes narrowing to slits. He night vision was fantastic, but it was better than most and being at the front of the group helped her see futher.
Lavi and Allen slammed into her back, but she didn't even sway, as if the wind had merely blown against her. Lenalee pulled up beside her, staring into the gloom. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said truthfully. She squinted, trying to make out something, but all she could see was the dark expanse of blackness.
"What is that?" Allen murmured next, leaning over Kanda's shoulder. His night vision was much better than the other three, making it an easy task of seeing the object Kanda had seen. The question was deciphering exactly what it was. "Is that... a person?"
"I don't know, that's why I asked," Kanda snapped back irately.
Carefully, the group inched towards the black mass. When they were close enough to make it out, they came to a stop. They frowned in confusion, staring at the mass. The mass was just a huge puppy pile of cats sleeping right next to a fissure in the earth. The fissure was more than two meters in lengths and around half a meter wide, the edges of ragged earth upturned as if something had exploded from its depths.
"Aren't animals supposed to run away from stuff like this?" Lenalee asked, looking up at Allen with questioning eyes. She crouched beside the cats, stroking their fur. They stretched under her touch, purring loudly. "They're house cats."
He nodded. "They're supposed to run, but..." Without finish his sentence, Allen glanced around the forest surreptitiously, anxiety building in his chest. The gears surrounding his eyes spun slowly, undisturbed. He could feel it though. Just outside of his range, he could feel the presence of several Akuma. With them so far away, he couldn't pinpoint how many of them there were, exactly where they were, or what level they were, but he knew they were there.
"We need to get back to Antonio and Lovino. I have a bad feeling," Allen said, turning on his heel and beginning the trek back to the inn. The others followed without question, Kanda falling into step beside him. She silently stared ahead, her eyes scanning the horizon while his eyes scanned the forest for any movement.
They hadn't gotten more than thirty feet from the fissure when a streak of bright green flashed passed them. They pulled to a halt, staring after the fading light. For a moment, no one spoke or moved. The afterimage slowly faded from their retinas. All at once, they took off running, sprinting after the flash.
"Do you thunk that was the innocence?" Lavi asked.
"Yes!" Allen shouted back, letting his eyes follow where he'd seen it disappear to, "It's going in the direction of the inn." His breath stilled in his chest. He could see the Akuma now. There was three level 1 and a level 2. They surrounded the inn, leaving no room for escape. "The inn is being attacked!"
Screams shattered the still night air. In the distance, they saw the flash of fire igniting a building. The burning orange glow filled the night sky, chasing away the darkness. More screams joined the first ones, creating a horrible symphony of agony all around them.
"They're after Lovino and Antonio!" Lenalee cried, horrified. She took off ahead of the others, jumping onto the nearest roof. "I'm going ahead!" she shouted, taking just long enough to glance down at them and scan the horizon. She jumped from roof to roof at breakneck speed, only a mere blur to her companion's eyes.
"Let's hurry!" Allen shouted to his two fellow exorcists, not even taking the time to glance back to make sure they'd heard him. Even if they hadn't, they'd be thinking the exact same thing.
Oh my holy heck, I am so sorry guys! I didn't mean to take 3 weeks on this chapter. I do have a good reason though! I really do this time! My Microsoft word decided it'd be a fantastic time to take a crap on me, so I had to type this in the den which I really dislike because…you know…parents. Anyway, I am so sorry *bows to the all powerful reader* Tell me how this chapter was, yes? You can even yell at me. I won't be mad.
